“Effective advocacy matters. Litigate with confidence.”

Our strength is advocacy. With six partners and a dedicated corps of outstanding associate lawyers, Henein Hutchison LLP has been repeatedly recognized as one of Canada’s top litigation boutiques. Our partner leadership is composed of a gender-balanced team of outstanding litigators.

We focus on criminal and civil litigation, corporate investigations, regulatory matters and appeals. Our firm is frequently consulted by in-house counsel to provide advice on internal corporate matters and we regularly work with other firms on complex and cross-border litigation.

Our strength is advocacy. With six partners and a dedicated corps of outstanding associate lawyers, Henein Hutchison LLP has been repeatedly recognized as one of Canada’s top litigation boutiques. Our partner leadership is composed of a gender-balanced team of outstanding litigators.

We focus on criminal and civil litigation, corporate investigations, regulatory matters and appeals. Our firm is frequently consulted by in-house counsel to provide advice on internal corporate matters and we regularly work with other firms on complex and cross-border litigation.

ADVOCACY

CRIMINAL LITIGATION

“More experience. More defence. The best result.”

Henein Hutchison defends individuals and corporate entities charged with criminal offences before all levels of court around the province and elsewhere in Canada. Our firm has been built on decades of collective experience in criminal litigation, both as defence counsel and Crown prosecutors.

Our firm has been involved in some of the most difficult and well known criminal cases in the country. We approach every case with the same uncompromising dedication to our client’s best interests. We pride ourselves on achieving the best possible result at the earliest stage of the proceedings.

CIVIL LITIGATION

Henein Hutchison acts for and advises publicly-traded and closely-held companies and individuals on a wide range of civil litigation matters. Areas of focus include general commercial litigation, the oppression remedy, executive termination, pension entitlement disputes, defamation, estates, sexual battery claims, First Nations matters, and class actions for both plaintiffs and defendants. In appropriate cases we partner with leading subject-matter experts from other firms to build legal teams tailored to our clients’ needs.

We also team up with document review service providers to keep costs down on document-intensive files. Our focus is squarely on strategy and advocacy. We have the trial experience and expertise to deal with any advocacy challenges. Business and reputational interests are front and centre as we mount a tireless and effective case at trial or push to a quick and cost-effective resolution.

CORPORATE INVESTIGATIONS

“You need to get to the truth and respond effectively to a crisis. We get you there.”

We provide what institutional leaders facing a crisis need most: timely strategic advice focused on the long-term best interests of the organization. We regularly conduct complex internal investigations and provide due diligence services for leading businesses and institutions, many of which are household names. We deliver thorough and targeted investigations in response to a range of circumstances that affect vital business interests.

The quality of our strategic advice, and our rigour, are matched only by our discretion. Our firm has been involved in some of the most difficult and well known criminal cases in the country. We approach every case with the same uncompromising dedication to our client’s best interests. We pride ourselves on achieving the best possible result at the earliest stage of the proceedings.

REGULATORY

“When the stakes are high, you need experienced advocates fighting for you.”

Henein Hutchison regularly defends and prosecutes cases before various professional bodies in diverse professional disciplines, including many of the regulated health professional bodies (doctors, dentists, pharmacists and nurses) as well as disciplinary bodies in the legal profession, including the Law Society of Ontario, the Justices of the Peace Review Council, and the Ontario Judicial Council. Our firm advises a number of companies and individuals operating in a range of regulated industries.

We offer compliance advice and representation regarding federal and provincial environmental, wildlife, health and safety, privacy, money laundering, FINTRAC and industry-specific regulatory compliance regimes. We assist our clients in understanding the relevant legal framework, creating compliant policy and avoiding costly penalties or litigation. We also act in any reviews and litigation before the courts.

APPEALS

“Unparalleled appellate experience.”

Henein Hutchison is recognized as one of Canada’s pre-eminent appellate litigation firms. We maintain a large and varied appellate practice encompassing criminal, civil, and administrative appeals. Our team comprises experienced appellate lawyers recognized in Best Lawyers in Canada for Appellate Law and Criminal Defence. Collectively, the members of the firm have litigated hundreds of cases in the Court of Appeal for Ontario and dozens in the Supreme Court of Canada.

Our lawyers have successfully argued some of the most significant, precedent-setting cases in the country’s highest Court. We bring both intellectual depth and unparalleled practical know-how to our appellate work, and have earned the trust and respect of the courts at all levels.

TEAM

Marie Henein

Ms. Henein’s experience includes a wide range of criminal, quasi-criminal and regulatory litigation – as well as select civil litigation – representing individual, corporate and institutional clients both at the trial and appellate level. Ms. Henein has argued at all levels of court, frequently including the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. Ms. Henein has been counsel on numerous high profile cases.

Ms. Henein received her LL.B. in 1989 from Osgoode Hall Law School and her Masters in Law from Columbia University in 1991. She is certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a Specialist in Criminal Law. Ms. Henein is the Past President of The Advocates’ Society (2010-2011). She is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Law Commission of Ontario. She is one of the founders of the Court of Appeal’s Appellate Duty Counsel Program.

Ms. Henein is a frequent lecturer. She was an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School where she was co-chair of the Masters of Law Program. She frequently lectures at the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Advocates’ Society, the Ontario Bar Association, the Criminal Lawyers’ Association and the National Judicial Institute in numerous areas including trial advocacy, evidence, appellate advocacy and substantive criminal law. Ms. Henein recently delivered the prestigious Bernard Cohn Memorial Lecture at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law.

Ms. Henein is co-editor of Martin’s Criminal Code, Martin’s Annual Criminal Practice, and Martin’s Related Criminal Statutes. She is the Associate Editor of the Canadian Criminal Cases.

Ms. Henein has been selected by her peers to be included in the 2010 list of Best Lawyers in Canada with the specialty of Criminal Defence. Ms. Henein is the recipient of the 2013 Laura Legge Award and has repeatedly been named one of Canada’s 25 Most Influential Lawyers by Canadian Lawyer Magazine. In 2017, Ms. Henein was the recipient of The Law Society Medal for outstanding service to the administration of justice.

Scott Hutchison

Scott Hutchison is a partner at Henein Hutchison LLP. His practice includes complex civil, criminal, regulatory and constitutional litigation, with a particular interest in white collar crime and appellate advocacy. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a member of the Supreme Court Advocacy Institute and has been recognized in Best Lawyers in Canada for Appellate Law and Criminal Defence and for in Chambers Canada in Dispute Resolution. He was appointed by the Attorney General and the Law Foundation of Ontario to the province’s Class Proceedings Committee.

His recent practice has included advising in relation to the defence of complex class actions, advising clients caught up in business crime investigations, and representing individuals and entities in serious criminal cases at all levels of court. He has argued numerous criminal and civil appeals and trials, including hundreds of matters in the Ontario Court of Appeal and more than two dozen cases in the Supreme Court of Canada. He appears regularly before senior professional discipline tribunals, the Ontario Securities Commission and similar tribunals.

Prior to forming Henein Hutchison LLP, Scott was a partner at a top 10 litigation boutique in downtown Toronto, from 2005 to 2012.

From 1989 to 2005, Scott was counsel at the Crown Law Office-Criminal (Ontario) where he represented the Crown at all levels of court, including hundreds of appearances in the Court of Appeal and numerous appeals in the Supreme Court of Canada.

He is the author of a number of frequently cited legal texts, including Search and Seizure Law in Canada (Carswell); Hutchison’s Search Warrant Manual, 2015 (Carswell); Computer Crime in Canada (with Robert Davis); The Law of Traffic Offences (3d ed.) (2011, Carswell) and is a contributing author of McWilliams Canadian Criminal Evidence (4th) (Canada Law Book).

Scott is a member of the faculty of the National Criminal Law Program. He is one of the Co-Chairs of the Osgoode Professional Development Program National Symposium on Search and Seizure Law in Canada. He is a popular speaker on a variety of legal topics. Scott writes and teaches extensively and was a member of the adjunct faculty of Queen’s University Law School where he taught Trial Advocacy and Appellate Advocacy from 2005 to 2013. From 2006 to 2008 he also taught Advanced Evidence at Osgoode Hall Law School. He is a member of the Advocates’ Society, the Criminal Lawyers Association, and the International Society for the Reform of the Criminal Law.

Danielle Robitaille

Ms. Robitaille is a partner at Henein Hutchison, where her practice focuses on criminal, regulatory and disciplinary litigation at both the trial and appellate levels. Ms. Robitaille defends both individuals and corporations charged with regulatory or criminal offences. She has appeared before all levels of court and is an active member of the Inmate Appeal Duty Counsel Program for the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

Ms. Robitaille has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto and an LL.B. from Dalhousie University, where she won the Muriel Duckworth Award for “raising consciousness of women’s issues and feminism in the legal community.” Ms. Robitaille has lectured extensively including at The Law Society of Upper Canada, Osgoode Professional Development, The Advocates’ Society, the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario and the Ontario Court of Justice. Additionally, Ms. Robitaille is an instructor for the University of Toronto’s Trial Advocacy course.

In April 2016, Ms. Robitaille was appointed senior counsel to the Honourable Justice Michael Tulloch on the Independent Police Oversight Review.

Ms. Robitaille was named a “Litigator to Watch” in Lexpert’s 2015 Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross Border.

Matthew Gourlay

Matthew Gourlay is a partner at Henein Hutchison. He practises criminal and regulatory law, with a focus on appellate litigation and professional discipline. He appears regularly in the Ontario Court of Appeal and serves on the roster of pro bono duty counsel assisting unrepresented appellants in that court. He has argued a number of cases in the Supreme Court of Canada. His appellate work encompasses criminal, regulatory, and civil matters.

Matthew prosecutes and defends cases before a variety of professional disciplinary tribunals in Ontario. He is a legal editor of the Canadian Criminal Cases, a regular columnist on criminal justice issues for the Law Times, and a frequent speaker at continuing professional education events.

Matthew graduated as gold medalist from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 2008. He then served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin at the Supreme Court of Canada from 2008 to 2009. He has practised with Henein Hutchison since 2010.

Matthew grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia and did his undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto. Before attending law school, he pursued graduate studies at New York University, receiving an M.A. in English and American literature.

Christine Mainville

Christine Mainville is a partner at Henein Hutchison LLP. She represents clients in criminal, extradition and regulatory proceedings, in both English and French. Christine has appeared at all levels of court in both Ontario and Quebec, as well as in the Supreme Court of Canada. She serves as pro bono duty counsel in the Court of Appeal, and has represented the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Criminal Lawyers’ Association in interventions before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. She has experience with Customs Act offences; Elections Act offences; Extradition Act proceedings; privilege issues; and search warrants and production orders. Christine was also co-counsel on the Nova Scotia Parsons Independent Review.

Prior to joining Henein Hutchison LLP in 2011, Christine practiced criminal law in Montreal and was a law clerk to the Honorable Justice Ian Binnie of the Supreme Court of Canada. She completed her law degree at McGill University where she was the recipient of a number of distinctions including the Brett Code Prize in Criminal Law and the Johnston Gold Medal, awarded for academic standing and contribution to the Faculty and the community. She also completed a master’s degree in Comparative Criminal Law at the Université de Paris I (Panthéon – Sorbonne), and a Bachelor’s in Criminology at the University of Ottawa.

Christine was called to the Québec Bar in 2007 and the bar of Ontario in 2011. She has lectured to Justices of the Peace in both Ontario and Quebec, as well as to police officers and fellow lawyers.

While practising in Montreal, she was a board member of the Québec Elizabeth Fry Society, and a member of the advisory board of Innocence McGill. She is currently a member of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, The Advocates’ Society and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. She is fluently bilingual.

Alex Smith

Alex Smith is a civil litigator and a partner at Henein Hutchison. His practice focuses on civil and regulatory proceedings in a variety of areas, including commercial, oppression remedy, securities, energy, pensions, environmental, aboriginal, estate, defamation and class action matters. Before joining Henein Hutchison in 2016, Alex practiced in the litigation group at Torys LLP in Toronto for seven years, where he frequently appeared for corporate and individual clients before various courts and administrative tribunals.

Alex is a contributing author to The Law of Climate Change in Canada, which was awarded the Walter Owen Book Prize from the Foundation for Legal Research. He has published on energy, environmental, defamation, civil procedure and civil liberties issues and lectures regularly at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and elsewhere.

Alex graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 2008, where he was an editor-in-chief of the Law Review. Before law school, he completed an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto, a Master’s degree from the University of Cambridge and a Ph. D. in English Literature from Columbia University.

A native of Toronto, Alex serves on the Senate of Trinity College at the University of Toronto and is a director of the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History.

Maya Borooah

Maya Borooah is an associate at Henein Hutchison LLP, where her practice focuses on criminal and regulatory litigation, as well as internal investigations. She has appeared before all levels of court in Ontario, as well as before the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights.

Prior to joining Henein Hutchison, Maya clerked for the Alberta Court of Appeal, and articled at a top labour and civil litigation firm in Toronto. Maya received her JD from the University of Ottawa, where she graduated second in the English Common Law class and received a number of distinctions, including the Osgoode Society Prize for Canadian Legal History, and the BLG Professional Excellence Award. While at law school, Maya was a division leader in the Criminal Division of the University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic, where she represented low income clients in a variety of criminal matters. As a BLG Research Fellow, Maya supported the development of international guidelines regarding the exclusion of refugees on the basis of international criminal conduct, and worked on a number of interventions at the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers.

Prior to attending law school, Maya worked as a criminal law and victim services Policy Analyst at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General. She has a Bachelor of Arts and Science (Honours) from McMaster University, and Master of Arts in Political Science from York University.

Maya grew up in Toronto, and is currently a member of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association and The Advocates’ Society. She has also volunteered as a Regional Advocate for the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies.

Ken Grad

Ken’s practice focuses on criminal, regulatory, and related civil litigation. He has appeared before the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Superior Court of Justice (including the Divisional Court), and the Ontario Court of Justice, as well as the Law Society Tribunal Hearing and Appeal Divisions. In addition, Ken has twice participated as a faculty instructor for the Osgoode Professional Development Annual Intensive Course on Drafting and Reviewing Search Warrants, lecturing on complex search issues.

Prior to joining Henein Hutchison in 2016, he was a Litigation Associate with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP in New York City, where his practice focused on securities litigation and internal investigations. Ken served as a law clerk to the Honourable Justice Morris Fish of the Supreme Court of Canada during the 2012-2013 term.

Ken received his J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School, where he was the recipient of the Gold Medal (for standing first), the Harry R. Rose Criminal Law Prize, the J.S.D Tory Research and Writing Award, and several other academic awards. He also holds a LL.M. from Harvard Law School, a M.A. in History from Queen’s University, and a B.A. in Economics and History (with High Distinction) from the University of Toronto.

Ken grew up in Toronto and is a member of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, The Advocates’ Society, and the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History. In addition to being called to the bar in Ontario, he is a member in good standing of the New York State Bar Association.

Lauren Binhammer

Lauren’s practice focuses on criminal, regulatory, and appellate litigation. Prior to joining Henein Hutchison, Lauren served as a law clerk to the Honourable Justice Michael Moldaver of the Supreme Court of Canada. Before her call to the bar, she clerked for judges of the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

Lauren received her J.D. from the University of Toronto, where she won the McCarthy, Tétrault LLP prize for academic achievement. While at law school, Lauren was involved with the Criminal Division of Downtown Legal Services, and assisted low-income clients in a variety of matters. She also worked as a summer student for a leading national law firm, was a finalist in the Laskin Moot competition, and served as a senior editor for the Journal of Law and Equality.

Lauren is from Toronto. Before attending law school, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) in Acting for Theatre from the University of Windsor.

Mark Strychar-Bodnar

Mark Strychar-Bodnar is a civil litigation associate at Henein Hutchison. Before joining the firm Mark clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada for Justice Rosalie Abella.

Mark obtained his J.D. from the University of Ottawa, magna cum laude, in 2015. While at law school he was a research assistant to Dean Bruce Feldthusen for three years, working on matters related to product liability, class actions, youth justice, and economic negligence. Mark was also a teaching assistant, a legal intern with the Department of Global Affairs, and represented uOttawa at the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna. After law school Mark articled with a prominent Toronto civil litigation firm.

Previous to his legal career, Mark worked in Brussels with NATO’s Political Affairs and Security Policy Division focusing on relations with Russia and Ukraine. He has worked for various Members of Provincial Parliament and a Cabinet Minister in Ontario developing an understanding of domestic policy making. Mark has also spent time researching and working with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a non-partisan think tank, and the U.S. Senate (for the Chair of the Armed Services Committee – Senator Carl Levin) in Washington D.C.

Mark completed a B.A. (Hon.) at the University of Toronto, and was an SSHRC graduate student at the Munk School of Global Affairs’ Centre for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies where he obtained an M.A. He is originally from Dundas, Ontario.

Gabriel Edelson

Gabriel’s practice focuses on criminal and regulatory litigation as well as civil litigation. Prior to joining Henein Hutchison, he summered and articled for a leading national law firm based in Toronto.

Gabriel received his J.D. from the University of Toronto. While at law school he took part in the Corporate-Securities Moot competition where his team placed first overall and he was ranked as the top oralist. Before attending law school, Gabriel received a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Economics and Philosophy from Queen’s University, earning a medal for highest standing.

Gabriel grew up in Ottawa and is a member of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association and The Advocates’ Society.

Natasha Lombardi

Natasha is a civil litigation associate at Henein Hutchison. Before joining the firm, Natasha practiced as a litigation associate at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP in Toronto.

Natasha received her J.D. from Queens University in 2016, where she graduated with distinction. While at law school, Natasha received a number of awards, including recognition for academic excellence in tax policy and contested transactions. She volunteered for Pro Bono Students Canada and competed as an oralist in the Bowman Tax Moot. Before attending law school, Natasha obtained an Honours Business Administration degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business.

Natasha grew up in Thornhill and is a member of The Advocates’ Society.

Lauren Mills Taylor

Lauren is a civil litigation associate at Henein Hutchison. Prior to joining the firm, Lauren worked as a law clerk to Justice Malcolm Rowe at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Lauren received her JD from the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University, where she was awarded the Law Foundation of Nova Scotia Scholarship, the H. Carl Goldenberg, Q.C., Prize for the highest standing in public law, and other distinctions. While at law school, Lauren spent a semester working at Dalhousie Legal Aid, assisting low income clients with family, criminal and administrative law matters. She also edited the Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies and sang with the Acapellants. During her summers, Lauren worked at a top firm in Calgary and at the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. Lauren articled at the Alberta Court of Appeal and was called to the Alberta bar in 2017.

Before law school, Lauren worked in the non-profit sector in Canada and in East Africa. She completed a BA in International Relations at the University of British Columbia, where she was the outstanding graduate in her degree program, and went on to study for an MSc in Development Studies at the London School of Economics.

Sydney Hopkins

Prior to joining Henein Hutchison, Sydney received her J.D. from the University of Toronto. She summered at Downtown Legal Services and the Office of the Children’s Lawyer (Ministry of the Attorney General) and completed her articles at Henein Hutchison.

While at law school, Sydney served as a student executive member and division leader at Downtown Legal Services. She assisted low-income clients in criminal and family matters, trained and supervised caseworkers, and participated in the administration of the clinic. Sydney also served as a volunteer coordinator at Pro Bono Students Canada and as a senior editor at the Journal of Law and Equality.

Before attending law school, she earned a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology from Queen’s University and a Master of Arts in Applied Child Psychology from McGill University. She has received certifications in non-violent crisis intervention, cognitive behavioural therapy, and emergency suicide intervention.

Sydney is from Ottawa. She is a member of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, Young Women in Law, and The Advocates Society.

Karen Heath

Karen is an associate at Henein Hutchison, where her practice focuses on criminal litigation at the trial and appellate levels, as well as regulatory and related civil proceedings. Before joining the firm, Karen practiced at a prominent criminal defence firm in Toronto.

Karen obtained her J.D. from the University of Ottawa, cum laude, in 2014. While at law school, Karen volunteered for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity, chaired by Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire. She was also a research intern at the Washington College of Law at American University in the War Crimes Research Office, an ad-hoc editor for the Canadian Centre for International Justice, and a legal intern with the Department of Global Affairs.

After law school, Karen completed her articles with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto as a Judicial Law Clerk. She also worked with the Prosecution Division at the International Criminal Court and on the defence team of Ratko Mladic at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, both in The Hague, Netherlands.

Before law school, Karen completed a B.A (Honours) in Political Science and International Development Studies at Dalhousie University, and went on to obtain an M.A. in Political Science and International Relations from the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.

Karen is from Toronto and is a member of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, the Canadian Bar Association, the International Commission of Jurists Canada, and the Advocates Society.

CONTACT

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